Paint rollers for applying paint onto surfaces are known. Typically, such paint rollers have paint-absorbing surfaces that are dipped into paint containers and then rolled over surfaces that are to be painted. Another type of paint rollers has a permeable surface through which paint, stored inside such paint rollers, can flow through for application onto surfaces that are to be painted.
Generally, existing paint rollers works well for a flat, even surface on which only a single paint shade or color is to be applied. However, a problem arises when such paint rollers are used to apply paint at surface corners formed, for example, by two walls or between a wall and a ceiling. This is a problem because paint desired on one surface may be undesirably applied onto an adjacent surface.
Prior art paint rollers that alleviate the above problem include U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,740, issued to Burns et al., in which an apparatus provides a shield that acts as a barrier to paint being applied onto an adjacent surface. Such prior art paint rollers provide shield-like barriers that are detachably mounted to the paint rollers. However, use of the shield-like barriers causes other problems. For example, the barrier may be required to contact an adjacent surface for alignment purposes and presents a problem when an adjacent surface has wet paint or is delicate. Consequently, the adjacent surface can be damaged or abrasion by contact with the guard. Furthermore, shield-like barriers or guards are accessories that typically require assembling or attaching, which adds complexity to prior art paint rollers.
Another problem is that an uneven or rough painting surface will cause the users of prior art paint rollers to skip certain areas of the surface, given the inherent rigidity of the paint rollers.
Yet another problem, common to all paint rollers, is that application of an overly heavy force in use will contribute to excessive paint being squeezed out, resulting in an undesirably thick coat of paint.
The present invention superficially resembles an earlier invention (PCT/SG03/00015) by the same inventor, Mr Poh Leong Er. That earlier invention has been deemed to be inventive over other inventions such as NL 8301130 (Shuler JP), CA 2101124 (Bazydlo S), U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,832 (Irven N), and GB 2143158 (Multigood BV) by the WIPO examiner.
However, the earlier invention (PCT/SG03/00015) by Mr Er also suffers, to a degree, some of the problems of the prior art inventions.
Therefore, a need clearly exists for a novel paint roller for selectively applying paint at surface corners and that does not need separate accessories such as a barrier or a guard to be assembled or attached. In addition, a means to minimize excessive application of force when using the paint roller will also be desirable.